


Not Your Typical Love Scenario

by Dahua



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mention of abuse, zhengkun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 00:42:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15036926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahua/pseuds/Dahua
Summary: There are people who meet their partner for life in cute and/or cliché ways. This was definitely not how Zhengting and Justin met. (bad desc.)-Title came from iKon's 'Love Scenario'. the lyrics have nothing to do with the story/plot-Cross-posted on Wattpad (CLNDahua) and AFF (IdolProducerDahua)-Contains: profanity, mention of abuse-Don't take my story-Don't translate my work





	1. Chapter 1

“5, 6, 7, 8.” Zhengting counted off, stepping back, watching the group start their dance routine. “Relax Luo Zheng… Get closer Yanlei… You’re half a beat early Kaihao.” After a few hours of Zhengting giving constructive criticism and teaching parts of the dance over again, he released them for the day. “Keep working on those moves. You’re a week away from the music video shooting.”

 

“Thank you teacher ZT. We’ll practice and work harder.” Qin Fen said, bowing. He motioned for the group to head out of the studio. Zhengting sighed, grabbed his bag, turned off the lights, and walked out.

 

“Zhengting!” Zhengting turned around to find his best friend bent over, catching his breath. 

“Hey Chaoze. I would have thought you don’t have need to catch your breath since you dance so much. But who knows you’re really odd.”

Chaoze smiled. “I dance really well and I don’t breathe that hard. But when running I have to catch my breath. Dancing and running are two different things. Duh.”

“You are such an idiot. Yes dancing and running are two different things but they both have something to do with- y’know I’m not even going to go there, it’s a waste of my time. And anyway why are you panting? Your classroom is literally next door to mine- wait don’t answer that.”

 

“Damn you’re mad. What’s that about? The rookies? Yanchen?” Chaoze’s voice turned serious.

“Both. More of the rookies. I had to teach them more than half of the dance over again. The last time we met up, they could do the whole dance. Now it’s like they just learned it. And I’m afraid that they won't be able to film the music video, it’s less than a week away!” Zhengting groaned. “And yes Yanchen texted me earlier today. He wants Quanzhe and Xinchun to meet his new boyfriend. I can’t keep them from meeting him but I wish I could. I have no idea who he is or what he looks like so don't ask.”

 

“Ohh… I can see why you’re pissed. Well I would love to meet Yanchen’s boyfriend.”

“Shut up. Anyway, I’ve got to get Quanzhe and Xinchun. I’ll talk to you later.” Zhengting headed out of the building and started his 2018 Lincoln MKX. He drove until he came to an elementary school. He walked into the school cafeteria to see many kids sitting at tables working on homework and talking to each other. Zhengting scanned over the kids until he found a group of kids sitting at the table next to the windows. He walked over to the group.

 

“Xinchun, Quanzhe, I’m here.” Xinchun looked up and smiled. 

“Dad!” He ran over and hugged Zhengting. Quanzhe came over right behind Xinchun.

“Did you guys learn a lot?”

“Yeah! We know how to do simple multiplication! It’s fun.” 

“That’s good. Well we’ve got to get going.”

“Wait!” Zhengting turned around to see a little black-haired girl wearing a neon green long sleeve shirt. She ran up to Quanzhe and poked his cheek. Quanzhe was frozen for a moment then he started to blush. 

“Aww that is so cute!” Zhengting squealed like a fan girl.

“Dad, please don’t do this to me.” Quanzhe lowered his head. 

“Fine fine. I’m so glad you have such good friends. We’ve got to go though, I need to make dinner for us. Say goodbye to your friends.”

“Bye Jieqiong, Yixing, Dinghao and Jeffery!” Xinchun and Quanzhe chorused. Their friends waved goodbye.

 

Zhengting drove to their three-story house while listening to Xinchun and Quanzhe’s interesting conversations ranging from why Swiper from Dora needs to be appreciated to whether this guy named Yanjun likes Zhangjing.When they got in the house, their fluffy white dog named Dahua ran up to the twins and started licking them. They giggled and ran off to the living room with Dahua in tow. Zhengting shook his head, laughing. He filled a pot with water, set it on the stove and turned on the heat. He sighed, he needed to reply to Yanchen. 

 

(a/n- the usernames are what they put for each other in their phones)

  
  
  


**yanchen:(**

I would like Xinchun and Quanzhe to come over soon to meet my boyfriend

 

**ughZhengting**

Sure, anytime next week is fine. Who is your boyfriend?

 

**yanchen:(**

You jealous?

 

**ughZhengting**

Psht! Never. I was just curious. After all I should know who is going to meet Quanzhe and Xinchun so…

 

**yanchen:(**

nchen:Not going to tell you. You’ll find out eventually. How about Thursday night? No, Xinchun has violin lessons. Wednesday night?

 

**ughZhengting**

Wow okay be all petty. You finally know Xinchun and Quanzhe’s schedules. Go yanchen! Sure that will work

 

**yanchen:(**

I am not petty. Shut up, I know their schedules. Good. Wait why is my name lowercase?

Zhengting?

_ Read at 6:15 pm _

You left me on read?!

Fine be like that. See you whenever.

 

Zhengting groaned, he wasn't asking for any of Yanchen’s sass. He just wanted to have a normal conversation. Zhengting is pretty reluctant to let Quanzhe and Xinchun meet Yanchen’s boyfriend but Yanchen has the same rights as him when dealing with Quanzhe and Xinchun. After all, it would be the same case if Zhengting had a boyfriend (which he doesn't). He doesn’t understand how Yanchen got a boyfriend so fast when they separated three months ago. Zhengting isn’t jealous at all. Okay he admits that he’s a little jealous, but wouldn’t you be? Your good looking ex having a mysterious boyfriend that probably look way better than you. Life is so unfair.

 

Zhengting waited until the water was boiling then he put in the spaghetti noodles. He took a pan, filled it with tomato sauce in a jar then put it on medium heat on the stove. He put some hamburger into the sauce and cooked the meat with the sauce. After everything was done, Zhengting drained the noodles, got three plates, put the noodles on the plate, put sauce over it and carried it to the dinner table. 

 

“Quanzhe! Xinchun! Dinner’s ready!” Zhengting brought over Dahua’s dinner (Blue Buffalo dog food with some spaghetti mixed in) and put it in between Quanzhe and Xinchun’s chairs. The two came in with smiles on their faces They sat down and waited for Zhengting and Dahua to sit at their food before they started eating.

“I’m interested in the conversation you had earlier. Who’s Yanjun?”

“Oh he’s one of our new friends. He moved here about three weeks ago. He’s good looking.” Xinchun smiled. “We can tell that he likes Zhangjing. We’re trying to get them together.”

 

Zhengting nodded his head. “Ah I see. Hey I wanted to say something to both of you.” He took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t been around as much as I need to. I feel like I’m not a responsible parent. Xinchun, I missed your orchestra concert. Quanzhe, I missed your art competition. I’ll try to be better.”

“Dad it’s okay, we know how hard you work both as a choreographer as well as a dad to us. You try your best! It’s fine because you’re trying to make it better.” Quanzhe said, Xinchun nodded.

“Thanks guys, you’re the best kids anyone could have.” Zhengting sniffed, wiping his tears onto his sleeves of his jacket. “I know I don’t have to, but let me make it up to you guys. The fair is in town next week so I was thinking we could go to that.”

“Really? We’ve been discussing about asking you to go to it. Thanks dad!” Xinchun got out of his seat and hugged Zhengting. 

Zhengting smiled. “You’re welcome. Now let’s clean our dishes and get ready for bed.”

 

Zhengting helped Xinchun and Quanzhe put their rinsed off dishes into the dishwasher, helped take a bath, put on pajamas, and tucked them in to bed. 

“Oh I forgot to mention something. On Wednesday you’ll get to meet your dad’s boyfriend “ Zhengting said, wiping some ‘dust’ off of the nightstand in between the two queen beds.

“I hope he’s nice. Will he be nice?” Quanzhe asked.

“I’ve never met him so I can’t judge what he’ll be like but I think he should be fairly nice, don’t worry about it.” Zhengting kissed Quanzhe’s fore head then Xinchun’s. “Goodnight guys. Sweet dreams.”

 

Zhengting sighed when he closed their bedroom door. He doesn’t know what to expect when Quanzhe and Xinchun meet Yanchen’s boyfriend. He could be a criminal, a murderer or something worse. On the other hand, he could be a caring guy that will treat Xinchun and Quanzhe. Zhengting’s mind was swimming with theories about Yanchen’s boyfriend. Zhengting decided to go to sleep with these thoughts, not caring whether or not he was going to have a nightmare about Yanchen’s boyfriend. He just wanted some sleep.

 

~~~~~

 

Zhengting received a nice surprise the following Tuesday. The rookies that Zhengting was teaching practiced enough that they successfully danced for the music video. The CEO of the company was so impressed with how Zhengting managed to teach them a hard choreography in less than three weeks, he gave him a promotion to head choreographer. Zhengting asked if Chaoze could get a promotion as well since he did help choreograph half of the dance. The CEO agreed and promoted Chaoze, making him and Zhengting both main choreographers. They went out to a cafe to celebrate. Zhengting got an iced dark chocolate mocha and Chaoze got a caffè mistó. They sat down at the table in front of the window.

 

“I love you so much Zhengting! Thank you so much for giving me that promotion. I really appreciate it.”

“Anything for my best friend.” Zhengting smiled.

“Aweee...you’re the best. I can’t wait to get the money, I need to pay off my car. If I didn’t earn enough money in a few weeks, my car would be-” Zhengting cut off Chaoze by shhh-ing him. He pointed to a table on the other side of the cafe. There was a person Zhengting didn’t recognize and beside the person was someone who Zhengting least expected to see, Yanchen.

 

“Ew, it’s Yanchen and another guy…” Chaoze gasped. “Wait, do you think that’s his boyfriend?” Zhengting nodded. “Damn he looks good.” Zhengting slapped Chaoze. “OW!”

“You will not say my ex’s boyfriend looks good.” Yanchen glanced over at the two, then quickly turned back to the other guy. “Great. Now he knows we’re here. Let’s leave.”

Chaoze shook his head. “Nu-uh. I paid for this drink so I’m going to finish it.”

“Ugh fine, just make it quick.” After Zhengting said that, Chaoze took his time finishing off his coffee. “Stop being so petty.”

“It’s in my DNA, I can’t get rid of it.” Chaoze said, shrugging. “And anyway, I'm counting how many times Yanchen looks over at us. I'm up to 38 times.” Zhengting opened his mouth to speak, but Chaoze kept talking. “Yes, he has been looking over here. If you would stop whining, you would notice.” Chaoze drained his drink. “Okay let’s go.”

 

They walked out of the cafe without looking at Yanchen and the guy although Zhengting looked back once to see Yanchen laughing at something the guy said. Zhengting frowned

“Man that was interesting, don’t you think?” Chaoze turned around. “No. Don’t get that look that you had three months ago. Please don’t go down that path again, think happy thoughts.” Zhengting grimaced. Chaoze was right. Zhengting put a small smile on his face. 

“Best friend ever!”

“You know it.”

“Hey do you think I could sleep at your place tomorrow night? I’m going to be alone because Quanzhe and XInchun are meeting Yanchen’s boyfriend.” Chaoze nodded.

“Of course. Now let’s go home, I’m getting tired.” They set off into the direction of their houses.

 

On Thursday evening, Zhengting got to hear all about Yanchun’s boyfriend from Quanzhe and Xinchun.

“His name is Ruibin and he’s really nice. He gave gave us new earrings and candy.” Xinchun said, head turned sideways to show his minion earrings.

“He’s a great person to have a conversation with. We told him all about the drama at school and things that we had on our mind. He gave his opinion on the topics and it was interesting to hear what he had to say.” Quanzhe said, enthusiasm laced in his voice.

“That’s great guys. See there’s nothing to worry about.” Zhengting said.  _ Well at least not on your end. It feels like this Ruibin is taking over my role as a parent. _

 

Soon enough it was Saturday and they went to the fair. They arrived at around lunchtime. Zhengting bought Quanzhe and Xinchun wristbands so that they could ride anything they wanted to ride. Zhengting hates amusement rides so he just sits and wait for Xinchun and Quanzhe to finish the rides. When Xinchun and Quanzhe got off of the Genesis they started to get hungry. 

“Dad can we get some food?” Xinchun asked. “I saw a stand with ribbon fries and they look good. And Quanzhe wants this huge turkey leg, it’s probably as big as his head.”

“Hey!” Quanzhe playfully shoved Xinchun.

 

“Yeah I’m starting to get hungry as well. Yeah we can get some food.” Zhengting proceeded to buy Quanzhe the turkey leg, Xinchun’s ribbon fries, a calzone for himself, and a lemonade for them to share.They sat under a covered picnic table right in front of the Ferris wheel.

“Thank you dad. Mmh this is good.” Quanzhe said, mouth full. 

“Eat with your mouth closed. You have grease all over your face, let me help.” Zhengting wiped off the turkey grease from Quanzhe’s mouth. “How are your fries Xinchun?” Xinchun gave a thumbs up. “Good. Do you want anything else to eat?”

“Can we have cotton candy?” Xinchun’s eyes were hopeful.

“Yes of course, cotton candy is necessary when going to the fair. Blue I presume?” The twins nodded. “Okay you guys stay right here since you’re still finishing up and I’ll get the cotton candy Zhengting got up and headed over to the sweets stand.

 

After a few minutes, Xinchun and Quanzhe finished their food.

“I’m finished and so are you. Let’s go look at some games they have here.” Xinchun stood up.

“Are you sure we can do this?” Quanzhe asked.

“Yeah! We’re old enough to go by ourselves for a little bit. Plus, if we get lost we can always find our way back here. C’mon what’s there to worry about?”

“Nothing I guess.” Quanzhe stood up. “Where should we go?”

“I saw a stand further down that has big stuffed animals.” Xinchun and Quanzhe walked down the crowded path, forgetting to remember where they were sitting.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are people who meet their partner for life in cute and/or cliché ways. This was definitely not how Zhengting and Justin met. (bad desc.)
> 
> -Title came from iKon's 'Love Scenario'. the lyrics have nothing to do with the story/plot  
> -Cross-posted on Wattpad (CLNDahua) and AFF (IdolProducerDahua)  
> -Contains- profanity, mention of abuse  
> -Don't take my story  
> -Don't translate my work

“Xukun stop being a scaredy cat and ride with us.” Xingjie said, signaling for Xukun to follow him on the ride.

“I’ve said no millions of times. I don’t like rides that are 32 feet up in the air and that spin you upside down. If you didn't know, I’M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. Some friends. Stop forcing me bitch.”

“You're the bitch ‘cause you won’t ride this ride.” ChengCheng said, laughing.

“Even Zhenghao is riding it and he gets afraid easily.” Zeren pointed out. Xukun flipped them off then started walking the other direction. 

“Shut up. Just so you know, I’m your ride home.” Xukun wandered around the fair, observing what kinds of things were at the booths. He came to a stop in front of a game booth when he saw two kids looking confused and lost, their eyes red and puffy. 

 

“Hey are you guys okay?” The blonde one flinched back with surprise.

“I’m sorry mister but we can’t talk to strang- wait you look familiar… Oh my god! It’s Xukun! The professional model who got scholarships for 10,000 people aspiring to become models. We admire what you’ve done. Quanzhe it’s alright it’s THE Xukun.” The blonde haired male named Quanzhe looked up into Xukun’s eyes for a few moments then smiled.

“I’m glad that I have some young fans. I know you’re Quanzhe, what’s your name?”

“Omg. Where are my manners? I’m Xinchun.”

“Xinchun and Quanzhe are cool names. How old are you guys?”

“We’re fraternal twins, we’re both six.”

“Are you guys alone?”

 

“No. We got lost and we can’t contact our dad. His phone is probably dead, that’s why he’s not answering. I’ll try calling again.” Quanzhe pulled out his phone.  _ Damn, the six year old has an iPhone X while I still have an iPhone 5.  _ “Nope, nothing.” 

“Well that’s bad. How about I hang out with you guys until we can find your dad.” The twins nodded their heads. “Do you have anything that you want to do?”

“We have our eyes on two plushies at that stand over there but we don’t have any money.”

“Well let’s go win you guys those plushies.” Xukun offered his hands to the twins, which they accepted.

 

They headed down to the stand. There were ‘fish’ opening and closing their mouths.

“How much to play?” Justin asked the person running the stand.

“10 dollars (a/n- just roll with it) for 15 catches.” Justin handed the person 10 dollars. “Okay so you you take a fishing pole and try to get the end of it into the fish’s mouth. The fish will latch onto the rod then you pull the rod back to get the fish off the line. Inside the fish there is a sticker with a number. That number is how many points you earned for that catch. After you use all of your catches, we total the points up and give you choices on what you can get. Hint- the faster the fish opens and closes its mouth, the amount of points go up. Good luck.”

 

“Okay Quanzhe help me find the fishes that open and close their mouths fast. Xinchun, when I catch one, take it off the rod and see how many points we got. As I start to catch more, add the points up.”

“Got it!” The twins said in unison.

“Let’s win.” For the next 10 minutes, Quanzhe was constantly yelling, Xinchun was calculating the total on his iPhone calculator, and Xukun was rapidly catching fish. They ran out of catches and started to see how they did. 

 

“We’ve got 480 points!” Xinchun squealed. Xukun gathered up all the fish into the basket provided and went to the person who ran the booth. After making sure the amount was right, the person led them to a range of colorful stuffed toys.

“Since you got 480 points you have a few options. One- you can get one of the four foot plushies. Two- you can get two jumbo sized ones. Three- you can get three medium sized ones.”

 

“Two jumbo plushies.” Xukun turned to Quanzhe and Xinchun. “Which ones do you want?”

“I want the minion and Quanzhe wants the hamster.” The attendant grabbed a hook attached to a rod, lifted off the minion and the hamster, and handed them to the twins.”

“Thank you!” Quanzhe said, the attendant smiled. Xukun, Quanzhe and Xinchun walked away with their new toys.

“That was so fun! Thank you for winning us these. We have to win you something. What game should we play?” Xinchun scanned the booths. “Aha! That one.” He was pointing to a booth that had ducks floating in a small pool. Xinchun pulled Quanzhe and Xukun over in the direction of the booth. 

 

It was a day full of fun. For the three. Xinchun and Quanzhe won small stuffed ducks for Xukun. Quanzhe wanted a fish and soon after Xinchun wanted one as well. Xukun won two blue and black fish for them. At the end of all that excitement, they got three churros and sat down at a bench near the water fountain. 

“So you guys said that you admire my work, ever think about becoming a model?”

 

Quanzhe nodded his head. “I love posing for photos. But it’s not just that. When you model you get to learn about different techniques on how you model and when you get to travel abroad you get to to meet new people from all over the world. Xinchun is also interested in the modeling industry but not in front of a camera. He wants to be a clothing designer. He always chooses our clothes that are currently in style. He also chooses what my dad wears everyday.”

 

“Oh my god. How long has it been since you’ve gotten lost? We need to find your dad. I bet he’s-” Xukun got cut off from his worrying when Xinchun ran over and hugged a guy wearing a pink sweatshirt and dark skinny jeans, holding a bag of blue cotton candy. His eyes were red, suggesting that he had been crying. Quanzhe looked up, saw the man and ran over to him and Xinchun.

 

“Dad!” Xukun casually walked over to the three, his hands full of the things that they won.

“Guys what happened? I told you to stay right there. Oh my gosh, don’t scare me like that again! I’m glad you’re safe. Are you hurt?” The man looked over Quanzhe and Xinchun, seeing if there was anything wrong with them.

“Dad we’re okay. You know the model we idolize?” The man nodded. “He’s the one who took care of us when we got lost.” The man looked up at Xukun, tears of happiness and relief building up in his eyes.

“Thank you so much. I don’t know what to say…”

“Maybe introduce yourself dad.” Xinchun butted in.

 

“Oh right sorry.” The man blushed. “I’m Zhu Zhengting, the father of Quanzhe and Xinchun. Thank you for keeping my kids safe. I don’t know how to how to repay you.” 

“You’re very welcome. I enjoyed their company. We had lots of fun. Oh and I haven’t formally introduced myself. I’m Cai Xukun. You don’t have to owe me anything. It’s fine.”

“Nice to meet you Xukun. I know that I don’t have to but I need to make it up to you. What should I do?”

 

“Let’s go to the beach. We can have a picnic on the beach!” Quanzhe stated.

“Do you like the beach?” Zhengting asked Xukun.

“Yeah I find it enjoyable.”

Zhengting nodded. “Do you like Char Siu Bao? Dumplings?”

“Yes, they’re really delicious.”

“Then that’s what I’ll make. Would next Friday at 11 work?” Xukun nodded. “Great. Here let me put my number into your phone so we can contact each other.”

 

After they put their numbers in, Zhengting smiled.

“Thank you again, I’ll be saying that to you until I die.” Xukun laughed. “I guess the kids enjoyed hanging out with their role model. Right guys?” Xinchun and Quanzhe nodded. Quanzhe opened his arms for Zhengting to pick him up. Zhengting complied, picking Quanzhe up. “That means it’s time to go.”

“Your hands are full, let me carry these things,” Xukun gestured to the prizes and fishes. “out to your car.” 

 

Zhengting was about to protest when Xinchun interrupted.

“Dad you’ve done too much, let Xukun help.” Xukun holding the prizes in one arm and holding Xinchun’s hand in the other, followed Zhengting and Quanzhe to their car. Xukun put the prizes in the back of the car then put the fishes in the front seat and ‘buckled’ them in. Zhengting put Quanzhe and Xinchun into their car seats. 

“Thank you again, Xukun. We’ll see you next Friday.” 

 

Xukun walked back to the entrance of the fair where he found his friends, looking like they were about to pass out.

“Hey guys. How’s it going?” Xukun laughed.

“Eating fried Oreos then going on the Raven isn't a good idea.” ChengCheng said, falling to the ground.

“What have you been doing?” Zhenghao asked.

“Well… I met some kids who were lost, I played games with them, found their dad I think he's single, and now I’m going to the beach with them next Friday.”

“Damn, you have a better social life than I have.” Xingjie said.

 

“Wait- a single dad?” Zeren asked, squinting his eyes. “What’s his name?”

“Zhu Zhengting.”

Zeren gasped “Zhu Zhengting?!”

“Do you know him…?” Xukun asked.

“Um hell yeah. Well not personally. He’s the lead, well now main choreographer at Sapphire Entertainment. He’s really good. He got the rookie group, TNV, into shape for their debut music video. You’re so lucky. Oh I hear he’s flexible.” Zeren wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Shut up you perv. Now let’s stop standing here and get you guys home. I'm tired af.” The group agreed and headed to Xukun’s car.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are people who meet their partner for life in cute and/or cliché ways. This was definitely not how Zhengting and Justin met. (bad desc.)
> 
> -Title came from iKon's 'Love Scenario'. the lyrics have nothing to do with the story/plot  
> -Cross-posted on Wattpad (CLNDahua) and AFF (IdolProducerDahua)  
> -Contains- profanity, mention of abuse  
> -Don't take my story  
> -Don't translate my work

 

It was Friday and Zhengting was driving to the beach to meet Xukun. It had been a busy morning. Zhengting did a lot of cooking. It didn’t help that Xinchun and Quanzhe were in the kitchen. They had made a mess with the flour and sugar. Zhengting had to clean up all of it. Once the food was done and the mess was cleaned up, Zhengting had to bathe the twins and dress them for the day. That took 45 minutes to do. Xinchun chose to wear a minion t-shirt, blue swimming shorts with leaves printed on them and orange flip flops. Quanzhe wore a shirt with an otter on it, the same swim shorts as Xinchun’s but colored green and yellow flip flops. Zhengting wore a light red tank top with the words ‘Summer Vibes’ on it, black swimming trunks and brown sandals. Zhengting loaded the car with the necessary items needed on a beach trip, umbrella, towels, sand toys, sunscreen.

 

They arrived at the beach and started unloading everything. Zhengting put all the supplies and toys into a blue portable cart. Quanzhe and Xinchun were in charge of handling the cart while Zhengting held the food that was contained in a basket. Zhengting looked around the park that was connected to the beach unli he found who he was looking for. Xukun was observing the kids who were playing on the playground (not in a creepy way). 

“Xukun!” Xukun looked up to find Zhengting, Xinchun and Quanzhe walking towards him.

“Hey guys. I didn’t want to sit in the blazing sand.” Xukun was wearing a white tank top with the words ‘the beach is my second home’ written on it, brown swimming trunks, and red flip flops.

 

Zhengting chuckled. “I don’t blame you. Let’s go find a spot on the beach. Quanzhe, Xinchun, give Xukun the cart.” The twins didn’t protest. They handed the cart over to Xukun then walked beside the two adults. “Can you two search for a place to settle down, near the water?” Xinchun and Quanzhe ran down the hill of sand, feeling energetic. After a few minutes of searching, they found the perfect spot. Zhengting laid out the towels, Justin put up the sun umbrella, Xinchun and Quanzhe put plates out for their food. 

 

Zhengting took out the contents that were in the the cooler; steamed chicken dumplings, char siu bao, and lemonade. He distributed the food between the four. They ate quietly, watching everything that was happening in the water; waterskiing, surfboarding, people in floats, children splashing in the water.

“Mmh! This is really good.” Xukun exclaimed, finishing off his food. 

“Of course it is. My dad made them.” Quanzhe said.

“Thanks guys.” Zhengting smiled.

“Dad can we go into the water?” Xinchun asked. 

“Not yet. I need to rest a bit before I can go in with you.” Xinchun whined.

“I can take them.” Xukun said, Xinchun’s eyes lit up.

“Thank you.” Zhengting said. “HEY! Quanzhe and Xinchun get back here, you need sunscreen.”

 

“Sunscreen?! I don’t want it.” Quanzhe said, pouting.

“Do you want sunburns? Or worse, skin cancer?” Xukun asked holding the spray-on sunscreen.

“No… I guess not.” Xukun put sunscreen on Quanzhe while Zhengting did the same to Xinchun.

“Let me just take this off. Then we can go.” Xukun said. He pulled off his tank top and handed the shirt to Zhengting. Zhengting blushed. “Okay let’s go.” Xukun put his hands out for Quanzhe and Xinchun to take.

Zhengting laid down on the towel, sunglasses down, closed eyes, listening to the waves crash onto the beach. After a 20 minute nap, Zhengting felt refreshed. He sat up looking for his kids and Xukun. 

 

He found Quanzhe and Xinchun in the shallow end of the water looking for shells. Xukun emerged from the water with a handful of shells and beautiful rocks. He gave them to Xinchun and Quanzhe then motioned for them to go on the sand. Xukun flipped his hair back. To Zhengting, it was in slow motion. Zhengting took a sip of his lemonade. Water drops were rolling down Xukun’s body, the afternoon sun at the right angle to highlight Xukun’s features. Xukun made eye contact with Zhengting then smiled. Zhengting choked on the lemonade. Once he recovered, Zhengting went down to where Quanzhe, Xinchun and Xukun were.

 

“Dad look! Xukun found some sand dollars and some pretty rocks.” Quanzhe extended his hands upward to show Zhengting. 

“Those are beautiful. Did you say thank you to Xukun?”

“No…” Xinchun turned to Xukun. “Thank you!”

“Anytime.” Xukun smiled. “Do you guys want to make some sand castles?”

“Yeah!” They spent the next hour building a big sand castle with a moat, a bridge leading to the entrance, high walls, big rooms, and a backyard for the seahorses insisted by Quanzhe. Zhengting and Xukun sat under the umbrella while Quanzhe and Xinchun were drawing in the sand with some sticks.

 

“I want to thank you for spending time with them when I was sleeping and keeping them entertained.”

“No problem. I love kids. Hey can I ask a question about your life? Not in a weird or creepy way of course.”

“Yeah go ahead.”

“How did you get Quanzhe and Xinchun? Adoption? Surrogacy? Did you raise them with someone? An ex? Or a current boyfriend?” Xukun frowned at the last question. (Homosexual relationships are the majority in this world)

Zhengting sighed. “This is a long story but we’ve go time. Boys! Stay on the beach, don’t go into the water.” The twins nodded. “Zhengting turned back to Xukun “I guess it was when I met my ex boyfriend Yanchen, Quanzhe and Xinchun’s father. It was a cold, yet warm-feeling winter day on the college campus. I was strolling through the park. I didn’t have classes for about 30 minutes so I took my time getting to class. I was minding my own business when a snowball hit the side of my face. I looked around, trying to figure who threw it. A guy ran up to me. He apologized, saying he thought I was his best friend. As much as I tried to tell him it was okay, he said he needed to make it up to me. Now that I think about it, I do that a lot, insist that I owe people something. I guess I got it from him. Huh. Funny how things happen.” (a/n- get it?)

 

“Anyway, he took me to a coffee shop and bought me an Americano. We started to socialize by talking about our classes we were taking. He was in law school, but he wanted to get into science and robotics. I encouraged him to follow that path. He followed my suggestion and now in present time he’s the head researcher on the study of potentially giving severe injured people like amputees robotic body parts that would eliminate they have to face. But back to the story. After the talk we had in that coffee shop, we started to hang out more. Eventually when we got out of college we settled in a nice, cozy house. A few months later, we decided to have a surrogate mother to have kids. She gave birth to Xinchun and Quanzhe. When Xinchun and Quanzhe were about two was when things started to go downhill. Yanchen was still a lawyer at that time. He got angry easily because he was so stressed with his cases.”

 

“One night he came back home, drunk. He lost his case that he worked so hard on. I tried to ask him what was wrong but he pushed me away. I tried again. He shoved me back and called me a whore. That hurt me. After that incident, Yanchen started to drink more and called me more ugly names. At one point I felt like I had nothing to live for. I made two suicide attempts. Both times, Yanchen just laughed at how pathetic I was, trying to get attention he didn’t do anything. My best friend, Chaoze, saved me from ending my life. He was with me through the long months when I was depressed. He finally got me out of that rut by saying Xinchun and Quanzhe needed me. I finally realized what was important to me. Yanchen went into rehab for his excessive drinking. He was in there for a few months the was released. When he got released, I broke up with him. No feelings were hurt. After he was totally cleared from everything, he got shared custody of Quanzhe and Xinchun. We’re on fairly good terms now. But yeah that’s how Quanzhe and Xinchun came into the world and my love life.”

 

“Thank you for answering my questions. It gives me a better understanding of everything. Just so you know you’re not alone when it comes to being a victim of physical/mental abuse. I am one of them. I'm not going to go into detail but my dad physically abused me when I was young. Luckily he got reported on and arrested. I feel a strong connection between us, that I haven’t felt between me and another person before. I want to protect you, Quanzhe and Xinchun from anything that could harm you. Sorry if I’m being cliché.”

 

“No it’s fine. I feel a connection as well.” Zhengting leaned into Xukun’s face. He kissed Xukun and he kissed back. They kissed sweetly for a few moments until Zhengting pulled back. “I think the kids really like you. Do you want to hang out with us more often?”

“Really? That would be amazing.”

“Great.” They kissed again. They held the kiss until they heard a scream.

 

~~~~

 

“I can’t believe we know Xukun. It’s hard to believe.” Xinchun said, looking out at the sea.

“It is. Maybe he’ll become our other dad.” Quanzhe suggested. 

“What do you mean?” Xinchun sat up.

“Well I mean he won’t replace dad. Maybe he could be a new one like Ruibin. I’ve been observing dad and Xukun and there’s something there, in both of them. They just need to dig a little to find that connection.” Xinchun nodded, impressed. 

“Hey let’s go in the water. We can look for more shells.”

“But dad said not to.”

 

“Well they aren’t paying attention anyways.” Xinchun gestured to the two adults, deep in conversation. “And look what happened when we went on our own at the fair. We met Xukun and he hung out with us. Gathering shells is like our gift to him.” Quanzhe bit his lip, hesitant. He really didn’t want to go against his dad’s words again but he can’t really say no to his brother. Xinchun was right in a way. They did benefit from Xinchun’s plan but it was luck. 

Quanzhe sighed. “Okay fine. But let’s just do it for 10 minutes. I really don’t want to get in trouble again. I mean we got our phones taken up for a month.”

“Yeah yeah. Let’s go.” The twins waded into the water. “You go on the left side and I’ll go on the right.”

 

Quanzhe followed his brother’s instructions. After a few minutes of searching, Quanzhe found nothing. He stepped further in, still looking. He was too focused on finding the sea’s treasures, Quanzhe didn’t see a huge log that was at the floor of the ocean. He tripped and submerged into the water. 

 

_ Breathe. No don’t. Hold your breath. You’re gonna pass out. Drown or pass out?  It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m going to die. But maybe I can stay alive? Keep swimming. Don't sink. Well… it’s too late for that. _

 

Quanzhe’s eyes opened. It was blurry but he could make out that he was getting further from the surface. He closed his eyes. He could feel that he was losing consciousness. In the last moments he had, Quanzhe mentally thanked everyone in his life. After he ‘said goodbye’, Quanzhe breathed out, releasing the air from his mouth. Then he took in a big mouthful of water. Quanzhe thought he hit the seafloor. Warmth was coming from something soft. Quanzhe leaned into the warmth. He slipped into darkness.

  
  


 

 

…

 

 

 

 

 

 

_ beep...beep...beep _

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quanzhe heard the faint beeping of a machine. He was still looking at the darkness. He opened his eyes. He was in a bed, with needles and tubes put into him. The room had white walls, a window that looked over the city. Next to the window there were three chairs, all of them were occupied. 

“Xinchun? Dad? Xukun?...” Quanzhe’s voice was hoarse. His throat burned.

“Q-Quanzhe?” Xinchun ran over to Quanzhe. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry. I put you in danger. I should’ve listened to you. I told dad what happened. Xukun saved you. He’s a good swimmer.” 

“Quanzhe!” Zhengting was right behind Xinchun. He hugged him. “I thought I lost you. Please, don’t go against my words again.” Quanzhe nodded. “Xinchun is right. Xukun did save you. I think you owe him an apology and a thank you.” Zhengting motioned to Xukun that is was okay to come over. 

 

“Xukun, I’m sorry. I worried you and put yourself in danger for me. Thank you for saving my life. Twice.” 

“It’s okay. In the time that I’ve been able to hang out with you guys, I would do anything to protect you guys.” Xukun opened his arms for a hug, Quanzhe embraced him. “And we can’t not include Xinchun and your dad. Come over here.” The two came over and joined the hug. After a few moments, they released the hug. 

“Guys I have a question for you. Would you like it if Xukun spends more time with us?” Zhengting was closer to Xukun, he had his hands on Xukun’s arm. Quanzhe and Xinchun shared a look. Quanzhe was right. 

 

“Yeah of course!” Zhengting and Xukun looked at each other and smiled. Then kissed Zhengting on the cheek. 

“Aww… that is so cute!” Xinchun exclaimed, mocking what Zhengting did earlier to Quanzhe. Zhengting’s face flushed. “Now you know what Quanzhe felt.” Xinchun and Quanzhe laughed, Xukun looked confused.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“...he saved Quanzhe. That’s why he’s in a cast.” Xinchun explained to his father.

“So who is this Xukun?” Yanchen asked, eyebrows raised.

“Cai Xukun. He’s a professional model. He’s modeled for all the top brands like Gucci, Supreme, Saks Fifth Avenue. He got scholarships for for 10,000 people who wanted to go to modeling school but couldn’t afford the scholarship. I think Xukun is dating dad.” Yanchen stopped eating. 

“Interesting… excuse me for a little bit.” Yanchen put down his napkin and left the table.

“Yanchen! Finish eating!” Ruibin yelled after him but he didn’t care. Yanchen went into his room, into the back of his closet, put in a code, went down the stairs that appeared and into a room that looked like a vault. He punched one of the metal walls.

 

“God damnit! How the hell did Zhengting get a professional model as a boyfriend. I bet he’s ugly as fuck. Let me look him up. Alexa, show me a picture of Cai Xukun, the professional model.” Alexa pulled up a picture of Xukun on Yanchen’s TV. He hair was dyed blonde , wearing a blue jacket and a fishnet shirt underneath. 

“Argh! He’s almost as handsome as me. I’ve got to destroy him.” Yanchen walked further into the vault. He picked up a tablet (iPad) and started to code something. “Number I-46 step forward.” The cyborg stepped forward from the line of the other cyborgs. “You will be known as Xu Shengen. Your mission is to find Cai Xukun, then when I give you the signal you must terminate him. Do you understand?”

“Yes Yanchen.”

 

“Good. Leave out the back way. Start looking for him. Report back to me so that I can get his location and spy on him. This is what he looks like.” Yanchen sent Shengen the image of Justin. Shengen nodded his head.

“Ruibin.” Yanchen called through a microphone. “Are the children in bed?”

“Yes Yanchen.”

“Come down to the lab. I’ve got something for you to do.” In a minute, Rubin was standing in front of Yanchen. “Ruibin, I need for you to spy on Xukun and Zhengting. See if they’re together or not. Report back to me daily. Don’t forget to make dinner for me every night.”

“But Yanchen-” Yanchen pushed a button on his tablet. Ruibin froze for a few moments then was moving again. His eyes turned red for a few seconds then turned back to his ‘normal’ eye color.

“Don’t go against me Ruibin, or should I say  _ A-26 _ .”

“Yes Yanchen.”

“I mean you get the luxury of being above ground, you get to sleep in a bed. So be grateful. Okay that’s all I wanted to tell you. You can go, you start tomorrow.” Yanchen patted Rubin’s cheek. Ruibin clenched his jaw but left the lab. “Xukun you’ll be destroyed and Zhengting will come back to me.” Yanchen smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh, I didn't really expect for the ending to turn out this way ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯. Thanks for reading


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